Age no deterrent for these Swimming Masters

Photo by MICHAEL McGOVERNDean Kavanagh, 78, of Longmeadow, center, a member of the U.S. Masters Swimming team at the Springfield Jewish Community Center, poses with teammates Zhenion Zhigalin, left, and Dario Serra, right, in March at the New England Masters Championships at Harvard University in Cambridge.

By MICHAEL C. McGOVERN

On Sunday mornings at 8 a.m., when most senior citizens are just crawling out of bed, Dean Kavanagh, 78, is swimming the length of 20 football fields in practice.

A retired engineer, Kavanagh, of Longmeadow, is a member of a U.S. Masters Swimming team at the Springfield Jewish Community Center, a team that’s been helping older swimmers feel healthier, stronger — and younger —than ever.

Called the Western Massachusetts Waterhorses, the team does three 2,000 to 2,500-yard workouts each week — workouts typically designed for high school and college teams.

Open to swimmers age 18 and up, the team covers a range of skill levels, from recreational swimmers looking for harder workouts all the way to Dan Moran, a 29-year-old Springfield speedster who still holds four swimming records at Springfield College.

The Waterhorses describe a variety of health benefits they’ve achieved through the team. Some report lower blood pressure. Others talk about lower cholesterol levels and resting pulses. Overall, they feel sharper, more relaxed, more energized, and have more endurance.

At 6 foot, 1 inch and 210 pounds, Kavanagh really is a waterhorse. He has an 80-inch wingspan, which is ideal for swimming.

In family photos, he likes to clown around with his wife, pretending to be old and feeble, leaning on her for support. But, in reality, he’s anything but feeble. He’s currently ranked 7th in the nation in the 200-meter breaststroke (short course) for his age group.

A basketball player and track athlete in school, Kavanagh didn’t join a swim team —the masters — until age 60. He quickly lost 10 pounds of flab, which he regained in muscle weight.

Ten years after joining, at age 70, he recorded his best times.

Getting stronger and faster as you get older is not unusual. According to The New York Times, a recent University of Pittsburgh study found that “people don’t have to lose muscle mass and function as they grow older. The changes that we’ve assumed were due to aging and therefore were unstoppable seem actually to be caused by inactivity. And that can be changed.”

Kavanagh is definitely not inactive. Besides swimming with the masters, he has hiked, biked, skied, and camped through most of his adult years. His Achilles’ heel is his high cholesterol, which runs in the family. It caused him to need surgery for a carotid artery when he was 75.

Beyond his excellent physical condition, however, the biggest difference Kavanagh notices from swimming is his mental sharpness.

According to a recent article in The New York Times, “How Exercise May Keeps Alzheimer’s at Bay” a “daily walk or jog could alter the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or change the course of the disease if it begins.”

With his swimming, Kavanagh is doing a lot more than a daily walk or jog.

“I’m the problem solver in the family,” he said. “Everybody looks to me when any mechanical problem or family issue comes up.”

Photo by MICHAEL C. McGOVERNRetired banker Benjamin Bump, 69, said is a member of the U.S. Masters Swimming team at the Springfield Jewish Community Center. Last March, he got a number of first places in the 65 to 69 age group at the New England Masters Championships at Harvard University in Cambridge.

Benjamin Bump, of Hampden, is another Waterhorse who seems to get faster with age. A retired banker who performs in plays for fun, he swam at Amherst College.

“Back in the 1960s, we (guys) practiced without lane lines, goggles, or swim suits,” Bump said. “Of course, there weren’t any windows in the pool.”

Bump had a mostly sedentary period after college for two decades and even started smoking. He took up swimming again at age 41.

“Swimming not only helped me get in better shape and lose weight,” he said, “it made it easier for me to quit smoking. That was very important.”

Working out with Kavanagh on the team, Bump ended up doing the best times of his life at age 45.

Last March, he got a number of first places in the 65 to 69 age group at the New England Masters Swimming meet at Harvard University in Cambridge. At practices, he typically trains with the faster, younger members of the team.

His vital signs reflect his hard work in the pool. His cholesterol level is an amazing 11 and he has a resting pulse under 60.

Not bad for somebody who’s almost ready to turn 70. He expects to stay with the masters team for a long time.

“What other sport is there that you can keep doing into your 90’s?,” he asks.

Area writer Michael C. McGovern is a member of the U.S. Masters Swimming team at the Springfield Jewish Community Center. For more information on the Western Massachusetts Waterhorses, call the Jewish Community Center at (413) 739-4715. For more information on U. S. Masters Swimming, visit the website, www.usms.org